There’s a lack of opportunities to get exercise in low-income neighborhoods — less parks, more barriers to reaching them (like busy streets), and less private gyms than more affluent areas.

But people are literally blazing trails to get the exercise they need. In South L.A., folks have created exercise paths in unused spaces, and run up steep streets to break a sweat. In one case, the efforts even led to the creation of a park — people now hike up stairs that the state built, after taking a cue from the urban hikers who were already exercising there.

Right now, a particular trail is being debated, off La Brea, near the Stocker Corridor. Changing the landscape this way is never easy. But still, folks continue to use the space that they have, sometimes risking personal safety to get to fitness areas, or attracting the attention of police to get the exercise they need.